A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters, world, or other canon events I only own this story that they are partaking in. Hello everyone, so I hope you all are doing well. As I said in my last note I am hoping that things are finally back to normal and that I can return to keeping new chapters on a more frequent basis. Well, back to the show..

Harry sat quietly at the Gryffindor table as he waited for Hermione to join him. He had been a little surprised when she had declined his company while they had been descending the stairs. He shrugged and began to pull breakfast onto the plate before him.

"Hi Harry"

He smiled up at Neville as his housemate approached. "Hi Neville" he greeted as he indicated the seat near him in invitation.

The sandy-haired Gryffindor sat down and turned to look at him. "I hope everything is okay?"

Harry raised his eyebrow in question as he stared blankly at the boy. Neville frowned nervously as he waited for him to answer. " What do you mean?"

He blinked and his face fell as he realized he had not given any lead up to his question. "Sorry, it's just I realized that you have not been spending as much time with Ron lately and now you are no longer in Divination."

Harry smiled and nodded. "I see." he shrugged with a sigh. "While neither have anything to do with the other, I am somewhat upset with Ron."

Neville nodded, "I see."

Harry was about to elaborate when they were joined by Hermione who was brimming with excitement. Harry smiled brightly as she began to pull food onto her plate, humming quietly to herself as she settled in.

"You look happy"

She smiled softly. " Yes, I just received some good news."

"Let me guess" a voice said at the sound of someone standing up. "You got the highest score, let alone most perfect score in the school?"

All eyes turned to look at Ron, he gazed back at them dully and shrugged. Staring pointedly at both Harry and Hermione he huffed. "Sorry, while I am glad you have managed to obtain good grades yet again." He said, surprising everyone as he kept an even head and tone. "But could you please not discuss anything educationally related until lunch?"

Harry felt his jaw quiver in surprise to the way that Ron had managed to diplomatically construct his request. He looked between the two of them, noticing that she seemed at a loss for how to respond before turning to look at him. Their eyes met only briefly but he noticed again something that made him feel her confusion and many other things.

She quickly turned back to the redhead and smiled "Yes Ron, I can wait until lunch" she replied politely.

Ron seemed just as stunned by the civility in her reply as everyone else had been at his sudden use of manners. "Thank you." He said with a nod as he quietly returned to his breakfast without further ado.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Harry and Hermione sat quietly on the banks of the lake studying as they quietly enjoyed their afternoon break. Luckily they had managed to find a spot that was well secluded from others and provided them safety from distractions. They had been down under the shade of the oak tree for nearly an hour.

"Wonder if it's time for Defense Against the Dark Arts?" she asked as she looked up from her Divination book.

He stretched as he pulled himself out of his translation homework for Ancient Runes. "Not quite" he said, looking down at his watch to confirm.

She sighed and began to gather up her books, stuffing them into her bulging bag. Again he wondered briefly how she was managing to take so many subjects at the same time. He shook his head and joined her.

"Ready to head back?"

She shook her head, "No, I just want to be ready when the bell rings."

He smiled and leaned back against the oak, resting his back against the trunk. It had been a while since they had found a moment to relax between classes, Ron, homework, and catching him up on his new subjects it had been very busy.

She leaned back, pulling her knees up under her chin as she settled. He smiled again and watched her momentarily before she turned to look at him. There was a brief flash of an unreadable emotion on her face and in her eyes that seemed to draw him out of himself and towards her, however it faded nearly as soon as it began.

He struggled internally with himself for several seconds before being pulled from his thoughts by the one who he had been thinking about. "So, I was thinking."

He smiled, "What about?"

She frowned, "I was thinking about what to do with Ron." she stated pointedly, he knew that she had been nearly speechless at his behavior this morning.

"I am going to have to speak to him about that." he said, it was not like Ron to be so cordial and almost formal.

She nodded and fell silent again, returning to her inner reverie as she gently leaned against him. He smiled and lightly wrapped an arm around her as they cuddled against the tree. Again he found himself wondering if there was the possibility that she would like him too, if she would go out with him and be his girlfriend.

The idea was both awe inspiring and, as always, frightening. He was sure that if they did go out they would be happy, but he was too afraid of loosing his best friend if she didn't have those feelings. He inwardly growled in frustration as he pulled himself back out of his thoughts.

She was watching him again, this time though she didn't hide or turn away. He smiled and her lips turned up at the corners before she bit her lip and looked away.

"Hermione..." He began, startled slightly as she sharply turned her head back to look at him.

"Yes?"

He froze as she turned her gaze on him, something playing on her face quickly before hiding itself again. He sighed inwardly, he was tired of trying to figure this out, it was time to make a move.

"Hermione" he said again with a little more certainty.

"Yes?" She asked again, raising an eyebrow as she did so.

He felt his palms begin to sweat and his knees felt shaky, but he was resigned. "Hermione Granger." He said again, smiling softly as he did so. "Will-will you go out with me?"

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

She froze at his question, she couldn't believe he had asked. She felt so many feelings all at once. Joy, she was beyond happy that he liked her back, that he felt the same way for her that she felt for him. Nervous, she had never been with anyone before as anything other than a friend. She had never liked or dated any of the muggle boys she had gone to school with.

Lastly she felt fear, fear that if they should end badly she would loose him as a friend. She knew that Harry would never force her away, not without her having done anything so horrible that he could never forgive her. Fear that she could be used against him as a weapon should Voldemort or any other enemy choose to do so. However, above all else she knew that this was her chance at happiness and to provide Harry with a love that he could always remember whether it lasted or was simply a moment of joy together.

Choosing to live a thousand life times having had the chance for a moment of happiness with the boy she admired and loved, rather than a lifetime of possibly never being happy, she chose the only answer she could. Smiling brightly as she flung herself into his arms, kissing him softly as she felt his hands around her waist.

Pulling back to take a breath she opened her eyes to find him staring at her in amazement, his mouth slightly open in shock. She giggled as she watched him and sighed happily as she continued to gaze into his emerald eyes.

"Are you sure?" He asked as he came to his senses.

She nodded. "I know there are dangers, I know things will not always be easy." She said softly, as she took a breath. "But, I'd rather spend a lifetime having had at least a moment of happiness with you Harry James Potter, than spend the rest of my life always wondering what may have been."

He smiled at her words and nodded softly, "As would I." he agreed quietly, leaning in to kiss her again.

As his lips touched hers he could feel tears streaming down her cheeks at her joy. She softly whispered through the kiss in her own special way.

"I love you..."

"I love you too Mione"

She sighed as they broke appart slightly, still holding each other closely as she stared into his eyes peering into his soul. Suddenly he started to laugh and she backed off a bit, frowning as she raised an eyebrow at his reaction.

"What's so funny?" She asked as she was unsure how to take his reaction.

He smiled softly, gently caressing her cheek as and she leaned into his hand. "I was terrified to ask you." He said softly.

She smiled, letting a small laugh escape her lips as sighed again. "You were terrified?" She asked, surprised at this notion. "I have liked you since first year Harry, I never told you because I was afraid of how you would react."

He smirked, surprised to find that they had not told each other for the same reasons. "I guess we were both happily wrong."

She smiled as she settled into him, resting her head on his chest as she did so. "It seems so." She said as she continued to watch the boy that she had dreamed about for so long who was now finally hers.

AN: Well, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, this is where "Forever Always" will begin to diverge from "Forever" the stories will still contain much of the same events, though there will be differences as the story progresses and some things that may change all together. I felt that this story had many different ways that it could be told and I found the more that I thought about the story as a whole, the best way to tell the story and allow it to shine its glory was to tell it in multiple ways hence this is the alternate version. I do hope that you all enjoy this alternate version and I look forward to what lies ahead.